Hey Geoffrey:
Let me admit right up front to a Nissan bias. I've had several and have
had great experiences with all of them. My daily driver is a Nissan
with 165,000 miles on it that's as tight as the day I bought it, in
spite of daily trips to the 6000 RPM Zone. A truly entertaining twin
cam in a remarkably durable package. All I've ever had to do to this
thing (aside from consistent maintenance) was replace a fuel pump, which
ended up being on recall and was provided by the dealer at no charge!
I've had a B210 as well, not exactly a screamer, but a reasonably smooth
and dependable motor. Mine was crippled with an automatic transmission
that really limited the motor, but when you got the revs up it built
some power. If your's is a manual that'd be a big plus.
My biggest concern would be the conversion itself. I've seen quite a
range of craftsmanship in motor swaps, from the immaculate engineering
in our boy Tim's Ro-Spit, to v6's welded directly to frame rails with
angle iron and scrap metal. The fella's at Triumph may have done some
goofy things from time to time, but they eventually got it right.
Obviously, some liquored-up numbskull might not have access to the same
level of expertise and experience. Of course, the flip side of this
would be the guy who meticulously works through all of the challenges
and ends up with a well-sorted hybrid. My point is simply that the
conversion itself probably provides the widest range upon which to make
ones decision.
There are intangibles like the karmic ramifications of cutting out an
automobiles heart (and some might argue, soul), but that's your trip to
work through... I'm still wrestling with eating eggs myself, but we
all have our little burdens. If it helps you any, I'd drive a hybrid.
(I dream of dropping a Mitsubishi 2.6 Turbo from a Conquest/Starion into
my Spit to build the "Spitsubishi".... Ahhhh, someday.....)
Finally, in a somewhat limited pool of spare parts (as you describe
yourself) there are probably more Nissans to cannibalize than Spits. You
may find that your motor was used in several different Nissan models as
well, exponentially enhancing your parts potential.
Hope I've helped.
John
Geoffrey Easton wrote:
>
> Hello All
>
> Some advice, if you please?
>
> I have the opportunity to buy a '75 Spitfire in very good shape for a very
> reasonable price BUT..... it has a Nissan motor of unknown origin. The
> current owner believes it may be a B210 1500cc of unknown year but not for
> sure. DPO installed it and is no longer around. It runs well and needs the
> normal things that come from being garaged for a couple years.
> I am trying to decide if this is a worthwhile project of whether I should
> just keep looking for an intact car.
>
> And now for some specific questions. Bear in mind that I live on a large
> piece of rock off the Northeast corner of North America in the midst of the
> North Atlantic ocean. There is no great stock of cars or parts to choose
> from and shipping to here can be very expensive.
> As well, labour will not be a factor as I am quite capable of doing the work
> myself.
>
> 1. Is anybody out there familiar with this configuration? Does it use just
> the engine or does it include the transmission as well? Can it be undone
> easily? Should I undo it?
>
> 2. How hard will it be to find a complete engine unit w/ carbs etc. to slot
> in, and if so am I going to be 5 & 10ed to death with all the little bits to
> get it running? What would a reasonable price be for a reasonably intact
> engine be?
>
> I realize that there will be a great deal of subjectivity here but if I can
> gather enough information I can make the appropriate decision.
>
> BTW if there's anybody out the in the Ottawa, Canada area who would be able
> to help my sister find a reasonable car that she would be able to drive down
> for me, this whole thing could be moot.
>
> Thanks all
>
> Geoff Easton
> St. John's, Nfld., Canada
|